The European Union faces mounting pressure to implement a ban on surrogacy after a recent UN report highlighted the ethical and human rights issues associated with the practice. This push follows a resolution from the European Parliament condemning surrogacy and urging action to eliminate it.
On Wednesday, experts gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, highlighting the human rights dilemmas tied to surrogacy, a process where a woman carries a child for another party after artificial insemination. The meeting, titled “Surrogacy: An Ethical and Political Challenge for Europe,” was organized by the conservative legal group ADF International.
This event underscores the European Parliament’s resolution from November 13 on a Gender Equality Strategy, which strongly criticizes surrogacy for exploiting women, particularly targeting vulnerable groups in poorer nations. The resolution urges the European Commission to take concrete actions to address and halt this practice.
“Surrogacy treats women and children as commodities,” stated Carmen Correas, Advocacy Officer for ADF International, during the event. “The European Union has taken an important step in acknowledging its inherent harms. We urge policymakers to move swiftly toward a clear, coordinated legal prohibition that protects the dignity and rights of all involved.”
Paolo Inselvini, an Italian member of the European Parliament, emphasized the EU’s commitment to ending reproductive exploitation worldwide. “Today it became clear that a determined European front exists, committed to stopping reproductive exploitation across the globe,” he declared. “We will therefore continue to fight so that Europe abandons all ambiguity and assumes a clear responsibility: surrogacy must be a universal crime.”
This resolution follows a report by Reem Alsalem, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. The report discusses various forms of violence linked to surrogacy, noting that it capitalizes on women’s reproductive capabilities, often causing them harm and exploiting their circumstances.
Alsalem’s report further critiques commercial surrogacy for assigning monetary value to women’s ability to bear children, thus reinforcing power imbalances where wealthier individuals control women’s reproductive roles. The report calls for a global effort to eradicate surrogacy.
Countries such as Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, and others listed on Surrogacy 360 have already prohibited surrogacy. In Europe, member states like Austria, France, Germany, and Italy also enforce bans.
This article was originally written by www.christianpost.com
